Page 77 - DMGT408DMGT203_Marketing Management

Marketing Management/Essentials of Marketing

Notes televisions. Marketers also try to reach opinion leaders in these reference groups. These opinion
leaders are persons who have significant influence on large number of members of the group,
such as a village sarpanch, or the head of a religious order. Professional brand/product
endorsements in the media by celebrities are one way of influencing consumer buying behaviour.

Example: People are likely to use/ prefer the brands endorsed by their favourite celebrity.
Family: Consumers’ family members are the most influencing reference groups, which shapes
his buying behaviour.
Now it is observed that there is a shift in the buying decision centre i.e., the family member who
has major influence on the buying decision. Earlier it used to be the eldest male member of the
family who decided on purchase of house/flat, car, etc., while the female members decided
major household products but nowadays these types of decision patterns are changing when
female members (even children) have strong influence on such purchase as real estate, car, etc.,
which can be attributed to the impact of education/media advertising.
Roles & Status: The buying behaviour of an individual depends on the type of role an individual
is expected to play while purchasing, e.g., an individual plays the role of a father while buying
birthday gifts for his son or the same individual is a husband buying an anniversary gift for his
wife. Each role carries a status e.g., the individual mentioned above could be the Managing
Director of an MNC or a teacher in a primary school.
Social Class is again a stratification a society built on a hierarchical order governed by wealth,
position and resultant status. Members of the same class share similar values, interests and
behaviour.

1. Each society gets stratified into number of social classes which represents a hierarchy of
prestige. The ancient venue system based on caste is gradually fading, but it is still a force
to reckon with in India, especially in the hinterland.
2. Formation of social classes is a multi-dimensional and dynamic process. A general three
class system exists

(a) Upper class (15%)
(b) Middle class (65-70%)
(c) Lower class (15-20%)
3. Members of each class share similar values, interests and behaviour.
4. Social classes tend to have distinct preferences in products and brands in areas like clothing,
home furnishing, automobiles, leisure activities, etc.

3.4.3 Personal Factors

The buyer’s own characteristics such as age, stages in life cycle, occupation, lifestyle, etc., are
again determinants of his buying behaviour.

Age: A person’s behaviour and habits change as he grows older; for example, a child’s deep
interest in toys and games gets transformed into collecting material objects automobiles and
houses as he grows to adulthood, and in later life may again shift away from material things due
to changing priorities.
Stages in Life Cycle: Consumption is shaped by the family lifecycle, for example a young,
independent bachelor will normally exhibit a different pattern of consumption from that of a
middle aged family man with dependents to look after.

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